WALKING into the WeightWatchers meeting with her mum, then-eight-year-old Sarah Le Brocq was wide-eyed.
It was 1990 and she was the only child among a sea of plus-size adults, all desperate to shed weight.
At her heaviest, she was 25st and classed as ‘morbidly obese’[/caption]
Pictured growing up in Jersey in the ’90s, Sarah wasn’t particularly overweight, describing herself as ‘slightly plump’[/caption]
“I was probably slightly plump but basically a normal child,” the 42-year-old single mum to Emily, five, says.
“However, as I sat and listened to grown-ups talk about diet plans and calorie counting I immediately started to wonder: ‘Am I fat?’”
Sarah, from Harrogate, North Yorks, believes these meetings played a key role in triggering her lifelong battle with yo-yo dieting.
Her experience supports new research by ZAVA Online Doctor that found 12 per cent of Brits first dieted at the age of just 15 or less.
A staggering 49 per cent reported feeling ashamed of their weight, while a further 48 per cent have struggled with their self-esteem as a result of their size – a statistic Sarah can relate to.
At her biggest, in April 2023, Sarah weighed 25st, wore size 28 clothing and had a BMI of 54.8 – marking her as morbidly obese.
Now on privately-prescribed Mounjaro, which she has been taking since December, after using Wegovy for a year, she is 18st and a size 18.
Divorced Sarah, who is 5ft 7in. – says: “I can chase after my daughter and go to the gym. The food noise is gone.”
Lifelong stigma
However, the stigma she encountered and her childhood experience of dieting was so severe it followed her throughout her life.
She spoke about it in an academic paper published in The Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
“I didn’t wear a wedding dress as I didn’t want to be fat in a wedding dress,” she says in the paper.
“I just wore a skirt and top. Every little girl dreams of being a princess on their wedding day, and I haven’t had that yet.”
Sarah also opened up about the difficulties she’s encountered in everyday life as a result of her weight.
“When I’ve travelled in economy in the past, I have booked a window seat to squash away from everyone,” she says.
“And with my previous partner, I used to book his seat behind me so that he didn’t know I was asking for a seatbelt extension, and he had more leg room. He has never known that I did this.”
She also revealed how she had been dismissed by health care professionals, saying: “Whilst trying to get pregnant, I had a friend who is within the healthy weight range who was also trying to get pregnant and of the same age.
“We both had difficulties after approximately two years, so decided to explore further support with our doctor.
“I was met with ‘[you] need to lose weight’, whilst my friend was offered a plethora of fertility testing.”
‘I felt frumpy’
Growing up, as a teen Sarah was always very aware of her size.
“I attended an all-girls school in Jersey in the Channel Islands, where I grew up,” she says.
“I wasn’t bullied but was always the fatter girl.
“My best friend was naturally thin. I, on the other hand, was – aged 15 – trying soup diets, all-fruit diets and calorie counting meal plans.”
At 16, Sarah weighed 13st and wore a size 14 dress.
“But I didn’t feel ‘normal’,” she says. “I felt frumpy.”
I was convinced I could be slimmer. Dieting consumed my every thought.
Sarah Le Brocq
Just before starting her A-Levels in July 1998, Sarah got down to size 10 on a milkshake diet and was overjoyed.
“I had a little leather skirt I could finally fit into,” she recalls.
“It was exciting to finally be like my slim pals.
“But even then, I was convinced I could be slimmer. Dieting consumed my every thought.”
After school Sarah attended Sheffield Hallam University to study for a pharmaceutical degree.
“Suddenly I was free to eat what I wanted,” she says.
“I was a typical student, going to parties and enjoying Haribo sweets and pizzas during late-night cramming sessions.
“Quickly, I ballooned from a size 10 to 20, hitting the scales at 18st. I hated my body.
“When I applied for my first job post-uni, I had to go to Evans, at the time the only plus size shop, to buy a suit. I felt like a 50-year-old.”
Through her twenties, Sarah was a “diet junkie”, her weight yo-yoing as she tried various diets including the cabbage soup diet and fasting.
“I would lose weight but would regain it,” she says.
Sarah grew up believing she was ‘fat’ – something that kickstarted a long-running, unhealthy relationship with food[/caption]
TV attempt to stay skinny
Aged 29, Sarah, desperate to be slim, took part in a weight loss television show called Fat: The Fight of my Life.
“I worked with a PT for 10 hours weekly,” she says.
“I lost 8st 6lbs in nine months and even completed an Olympic distance triathlon at the end of the show. I was thrilled.”
But still she didn’t like how she looked – or how it made her feel.
“It affected my love life,” she says.
“I would choose men who I felt needed fixing.
“When I ended these relationships, I realised my biggest relationship all my life was actually with food.”
So, using her degree, Sarah started investigating what causes obesity.
She has gone on to sit on the strategic council for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity.
How to lose weight safely
Losing weight should be a long-term commitment to healthier living, rather than any drastic measures.
The NHS tips – which can be adopted slowly – include:
- Get active for 150 minutes a week – you can break this up into shorter sessions
- Aim to get your 5 A Day – 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit or vegetables count as 1 portion
- Aim to lose 1 to 2lbs, or 0.5 to 1kg, a week
- Read food labels – products with more green colour coding than amber and red are often a healthier option
- Swap sugary drinks for water – if you do not like the taste, add slices of lemon or lime for flavour
- Cut down on food that’s high in sugar and fat – start by swapping sugary cereal for wholegrain alternatives
- Share your weight loss plan with someone you trust – they can help motivate you when you have a bad day
Read about:
- The five fat loss foundations
- The calorie formula for weight loss
- The perfect portion sizes for meals to lose weight
- Sun Health’s 8-week weight loss kick start plan
Don’t ‘blame the fatty’
“I thought I was just eating too much and not exercising enough,” she says.
“But obesity is caused by a myriad of social, environmental, physical, biological, and psychological factors.
“A child’s exposure to adult diet programmes will affect their view of themselves for years.”
It was this realisation which led Sarah to set up the All About Obesity charity, which campaigns for greater awareness of obesity as a chronic condition.
“Society sees a obese person and immediately thinks they are lazy,” she says.
“I want to help people understand obesity is not a case of ‘blame the fatty’.”
Life-changing decision
In March 2019 Sarah gave birth to her daughter Emily.
“Holding her in my arms I vowed to never expose her to diet clubs,” she says.
“It was her who made me go on diet jabs – I’d resisted bariatric surgery due to potential complications.
“I’m sure some people think diet jabs are cheating but my science degree helped me understand how life-changing they’d be for me.
Society sees a obese person and immediately thinks they are lazy. I want to help people understand obesity is not a case of ‘blame the fatty’
Sarah Le Brocq
“Emily made me determined to raise her to love her body, to learn only about healthy eating and to not be exposed to the diet culture.
“Meanwhile, I am not battling cravings and for the first time in 34 years can look in the mirror and not be horrified.
“The once-a-week jabs are finally enabling me to win my battle with the bulge.
“I know I will be on the injectables all my life, but their effect is not just about dropping the weight.
“It is letting me rebuild my self-esteem and body positivity.
“My mum and I have discussed my feelings and she understands. I do not blame her. I blame the fat-shaming culture of the time.
“For the first time in my life, I feel good about my body. It has taken 42 years and I will not be ‘jab-shamed’ for taking the easy way out.
“There is no easy solution to a person’s battle with the chronic disease of obesity.
“Like me you have to find what works for you. I am simply trying to treat my condition with the best tool for me.”
WeightWatchers has been approached for a comment.
Sarah, pictured here at 25st, said her weight ‘yo-yoed’ throughout her life[/caption]
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are a hot media topic at the moment, with hundreds of success stories from people who shed the pounds.
In March 2023, the NHS announced it would make Wegovy, a drug made by Danish firm Novo Nordisk, available on prescription to thousands of obese Brits.
It contains the drug semaglutide, which is said to have helped reality star Kim Kardashian and X boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce their weight by 20 per cent in trials, is now available from pharmacies like Boots.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less and therefore lose weight.
To do this, semaglutide mimics the role of a natural hormone, called GLP-1.
GLP-1 is part of the signalling pathway that tells your body you have eaten, and prepares it to use the energy that comes from your food.
London GP and founder of wellgoodwellbeing.com, Dr Zoe Watson, said: “Your body naturally produces an appetite regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
“These jabs work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Aren’t they diabetes drugs?
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But people started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
Novo Nordisk then developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered on prescription to obese adults given specialist weight loss treatment.
The NHS currently also offers a similar drug called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available throught specialist weight management services, which means you have to be referred to clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own, Dr Watson said.
The jabs have to be taken as part of an overall programme to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the medication prescribed.
Are there any risks?
Like all medicines, the jabs do not come without side effects.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
What other options are there?
Mounjaro (brand name for tirzepatide) also came onto the market in early 2024.
Like Wegovy, tirzepatide stems from a drug originally designed to treat diabetes.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
It is available to order with a prescription online from pharmacies including Superdrug and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor.
It works in a similar way to Wegovy and Saxenda, but is more effective.
Dr Mitra Dutt from LloydsPharmacy says: “Based on clinical trials, 96 per cent of people were able to lose more than five per cent of their body fat using Mounjaro. In similar trials, 84 per cent of people lost more than five per cent of their body weight on Wegovy, and 60 per cent on Saxenda.
“Mounjaro works by activating two hormonal receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which enhance insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity, and work to decrease food intake.”
